-Ratings Breakdown:CBS moved into the overnight winner’s circle on this second night (and first Tuesday) of the new TV season, beating competitive second-place ABC by seven percent. Next was Fox, which got a boost from the season-premiere of Glee (and not the debuts of comedies Raising Hope and Running Wilde), followed by NBC and The CW. While a 4.5 rating in the overnights for NBC is certainly not impressive, results among adults 18-49 are expected to be more competitive.

Season eight of NCIS (time flies!) opened the evening first in the overnights at 8 p.m., with a 12.2 rating/19 share. Comparably, this was up by three percent from last year’s season-opener (11.8/19 on Sept. 22, 2009), While NCIS will, no doubt, win the time period in total viewers, the show to beat among adults 18-49 is the season-premiere of Fox’s competing Glee, which was third in the overnights at a solid 8.5/13. Compared to Hell’s Kitchen on the year-ago evening (3.8/ 6 on Sept. 22, 2009), Glee built by a whopping 124 percent.

Moving back to CBS (and returning to Fox momentarily), a two-hour installment of the second season-premiere of NCIS: Los Angeles was successfully on the map, with a 9.3/15 from 9-11 p.m. But comparably, that dipped by 19 percent from the year-ago series-opener (11.5/18 on Sept. 22, 2009), and there was minor deterioration in each half-hour as follows:

NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)

9:00 p.m.: 10.1/15 (#2)

9:30 p.m.: 9.8/15 (#2)

10:00 p.m.: 8.7/14 (#1)

10:30 p.m.: 8.6/14 (#1)

Regardless, a 9.3 rating in the overnights is a winning performance.

Back at Fox, the series-premieres of Raising Hope and Running Wilde squandered the lead-in support from Glee, with Raising Hope third at 9 p.m. with a 4.9/ 7 and Running Wilde fourth at 9:30 p.m. with a 3.9/ 6. Retention for Raising Hope out of the 8:30 p.m. portion of Glee (8.7/13) was only 56 percent, while Running Wilde dipped by a hefty 20 percent from Raising Hope. Word of advice to the creative forces of any new series (in this case, Raising Hope): showing a grotesque barfing scene in the pilot of a comedy is…um…not necessarily the way to get an audience interested. One year earlier, Fox filled the Tuesday 9 p.m. hour with the second-half of a two-hour edition of Hell’s Kitchen (4.3/ 7 on September 22, 2009).

The power of mega-hit Dancing With the Stars was clearly visible on ABC last night, with an 8-9 p.m. recap hour (translation: repeat) second in the overnights, with an 8.6/13. The live eviction episode at 9 p.m. rose to a dominant 12.7/18 at 9 p.m., building from one year earlier (10.8/17 on Sept. 22, 2009) by 18 percent. So long, Knight Rider.

At 10 p.m., the premiere of ABC crime drama Detroit 1-8-7 finished second at 10 p.m., with a 7.1/12 in the overnights. While this was, comparably, up by 15 percent from the debut of year-ago failed occupant The Forgotten (6.2/11 on Sept. 22, 2009), retention out of the 9:30 p.m. portion of Dancing With the Stars (13.1/19) was only 54 percent. And there was a loss of a noticeable 19 percent for Detroit 1-8-7 at 10:30 p.m. (7.9/12 to 6.4/11). All in all, I consider that disappointing, don’t you?

Over at NBC, the season-premiere of demo friendly The Biggest Loser was nothing special in the overnights, with a 4.6/ 7 from 8-10 p.m. and the half-hour breakdown as follows:

The Biggest Loser (NBC)

8:00 p.m.: 4.5/ 7 (#4)

8:30 p.m.: 4.5/ 7 (#4)

9:00 p.m.: 4.5/ 7 (#4)

9:30 p.m.: 4.9/ 7 (#3)

Also potentially deceiving was NBC’s Parenthood, at a last-place 4.3/ 7 at 10 p.m. While that could, and should, be considered a “loser” from an overnight perspective, there is always interest among adults 18-49 and Parenthood is poised to win the time period in the demo once The Good Wife returns next week. Let’s wait and see what the demos look like when the fast affiliate results are posted at PIFeedback.com (at approximately 12 p.m. ET).

Last, and very least, was The CW’s low-rated combination of One Tree Hill (1.6/ 2) and Life Unexpected (#5: 1.2/ 2). As much as I admire The CW for granting Life Unexpected a second season, why it needed another season of tired One Tree Hill is a mystery.

It was the second consecutive week of across-the-board leadership for NBC, which finished first for the week of September 13 in households, total viewers and the three key demos — adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. But year-to-year, NBC was down by double-digits and that loss came as a result of a stronger Sunday Night Football match-up (New York Giants at Dallas) and an all original block of Thursday night programming in the year-ago week.

CBS ranked second in the five surveyed categories at levels close to one year earlier, followed by an improved ABC, which grew by levels of 14 to 18 percent from one year earlier. Also on the plus side was CW, which won the week outright in female teens (1.4 rating/ 6 share), while finishing second among women 18-34 (1.6/ 5). Fox took a tumble on this final week of the 2009-10 season.

In series-premiere/preview news, there was plenty of sampling for NBC legal drama Outlaw in the Wednesday 10 p.m. hour (out of the season-finale of America’s Got Talent), with 10.68 million viewers (#7 overall) and a 2.3 rating/ 7 share among adults 18-49 (#19t overall). But keep the expectations considerably lower when Outlaw debuts in the Friday 10 p.m. hour (out of Dateline) on Friday, Sept. 24.

In season-premiere news, CBS’ veteran Survivor: Nicaragua moved into the Wednesday 8 p.m. time period with a dominant 12.23 million viewers (#6) and a 4.0/13 among adults 18-49 (#3). Comparably, this was a double-digit improvement over year-ago occupants The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried. Far less impressive was the two-hour return of a non-celebrity edition of NBC’s The Apprentice, which was stalled at the gate with just 4.57 million viewers (#48) and a 1.5/ 4 in the demo (#45t) in the Thursday 9-11 p.m. block (opposite repeats on ABC, CBS and Fox). NBC had better results with the second season launch of drama Parenthood (out of America’s Got Talent) at 7.60 million viewers (#18) and a 2.7/ 8 among adults 18-49 (#9) at 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

There were four season-premieres on The CW this week and they fared as follows:

90210 (CW) – Monday 8 p.m.

Viewers: 1.96 million (#82), A18-49: 0.9/ 3 (#74t)

Gossip Girl (CW) – Monday 9 p.m.

Viewers: 1.83 million (#83), A18-49: 1.0/ 2 (#67t)

One Tree Hill (CW) – Tuesday 8 p.m.

Viewers: 2.14 million (#81), A18-49: 1.1/ 4 (#62t)

Life Unexpected (CW) – Tuesday 9 p.m.

Viewers: 1.65 million (#87), A18-49: 0.8/ 2 (#79)

Keep in mind, of course, that the strength of The CW falls within the young female demos. But when the overall results are this low, do not anticipate much.

Also of note this week were the season-finales of summer reality competitions America’s Got Talent on NBC, Big Brother on CBS, ABC’s Wipeout and Dating in the Dark, and Masterchef on Fox. They fared as follows:

America’s Got Talent (NBC) – Wed. 8-10 p.m.

Viewers: 16.41 million (#2 overall), A18-49: 3.9/11 (#4t overall)

Big Brother (CBS) – Wed. 9-11 p.m.

Viewers: 7.86 million (#15), A18-49: 2.9/ 8 (#7)

Wipeout (ABC) – Tues. 9 p.m.

Viewers: 6.06 million (#), A18-49: 2.6/ 7 (#11t)

Masterchef (Fox) – Wed. 8-10 p.m.

Viewers: 4.81 million (#43), A18-49: 2.0/ 6 (#25t)

Dating in the Dark (ABC) – Mon. 10 p.m.

Viewers: 3.24 million (#66), A18-49: 1.2/ 3 (#57t)

In specials news, hour-long Fashion’s Night Out in the Tuesday 10 p.m. hour on CBS was not so special at just 2.72 million viewers (#76) and a 0.6/ 2 among adults 18-49 (#83t).

Four encore telecasts of CBS’ The Big Bang Theory from 8-10 p.m. on Thursday, meanwhile, performed well enough to guarantee significant tune-in for the season-premiere of Big Bang tomorrow. See rankings below.

What follows are the final national ratings for the week of September 13, 2010 (with percent change versus the comparable year-ago week in parentheses), followed by the top 20 rated programs of the week, and the top rated networks on basic cable.

New HBO scripted drama Boardwalk Empire kicked-off on Sunday, Sept. 19 with 4.8 million viewers from 9-10:15 p.m. Comparably, that was HBO’s largest debut for any series since Deadwood on March 21, 2004. With additional plays at 10:15 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., Boardwalk Empire was sampled by a combined 7.1 million viewers. Given the ample tune-in, Boardwalk Empire has already been renewed for a second season, with an unconfirmed number of new episodes for 2011.

-New Series Report Card:

Based on Live Plus Same Day ratings, here are the results (in order of total viewers) for the Monday debuts of CBS’ Mike & Molly and Hawaii Five-O, NBC’s The Event and Chase and Fox’s Lone Star.

Hawaii Five-O (CBS) – Mon. 10 p.m.

Viewers: 14.20 million (#1 in time period), A18-49: 3.9/11 (#1)

Grade: A-

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Mike & Molly (CBS) – Mon. 9:30 p.m.

Viewers: 12.23 million (#2), A18-49: 3.9/10 (#2)

Grade: B+

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The Event (NBC) – Mon. 9 p.m.

Viewers: 10.88 million (#3), A18-49: 3.6/ 9 (#3)

Grade: A

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Chase (NBC): Mon. 10 p.m.

Viewers: 7.31 million (#3), A18-49: 2.3/ 6 (#3)

Grade: C

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Lone Star (Fox): Mon. 9 p.m.

Viewers: 4.10 million (#4), A18-49: 1.3/ 3 (#4)

Grade: F

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-More New First-Run Syndie Results:

Two new first-run strips debuted on Monday: Don’t Forget the Lyrics from Twentieth Television and America’s Court from Entertainment Studios. And we had one welcome return: Judge Karen’s Court from Litton Entertainment. Here’s how they fared in the overnights on Monday, Sept. 20.

Judge Karen’s Court (Litton Entertainment): 34 markets

Sept. 2009 time period: 0.6/ 2

Lead-in: 0.7/ 2

Judge Karen’s Court: 0.7/ 2

Growth of 17 percent from the year-ago time period average and full initial retention from the lead-in are two early positives for feisty and very entertaining Judge Karen’s Court.

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Don’t Forget the Lyrics (Twentieth Television): 46 markets

Sept. 2009 time period: 0.6/ 2

Lead-in: 0.6/ 2

Don’t Forget the Lyrics: 0.5/ 1

Out of tune in day one with a loss of one-tenth of a rating point (or 17 percent) from both the lead-in and year-ago time period average.

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America’s Court (Entertainment Studios): 25 markets

Sept. 2009 time period: 0.6/ 2

Lead-in: 0.5/ 2

America’s Court: 0.4/ 1

America’s Court is off to a rocky start, with erosion of one-tenth of a rating point (or 20 percent) from the lead-in, and two-tenths of a rating point (or 33 percent) from the Sept. 2009 time period.

-The Premise:Formerly called Better Together, three different couples have very different outlooks on love in this relationship driven sitcom.

-The Expectations:From a scheduling standpoint, Better with You is well protected airing out of relocated The Middle and into Modern Family. Although facing CBS’ Survivor is certainly a challenge, it is now the only comedy in the time period and there is every reason to believe retention out of The Middle in the higher HUT level 8:30 p.m. half-hour will be solid. While nothing new is a sure thing, Better with You could be poised for life past the 2010-11 season. And if it happens to fail, Matthew Perry in midseason sitcom Mr. Sunshine is waiting in the wings.

-Chance of Survival for Better with You (Based on a scale of 1-1 to 10-1): 2-1

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The Defenders (CBS)

-The Premise:

Jerry O’Connell and former According to Jim star Jim Belushi play two outspoken Las Vegas attorneys who do whatever it takes to defend their clients.

-The Expectations:

Opposite new drama entries The Whole Truth on ABC and Law & Order: Los Angeles, nothing is proven in the Wednesday 10 p.m. hour. So, this could be beneficial to any of the three new series. And based on lead-in, The Defenders has the best chance of succeeding. But the pilot was a bore, Jim Belushi is thought of as a bad sitcom actor, and the built in familiarity of the new competing Law & Order gives that hour the advantage. While there could be initial sampling, the biggest case The Defenders might have is to explain is the unexpected lackluster ratings.

-Chance of Survival for The Defenders (Based on a scale of 1-1 to 10-1): 6-1

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The Whole Truth (ABC)

-The Premise:There are two sides to every case as this Jerry Bruckheimer legal drama provides equal time to the prosecution and the defense attorney’s work on the same cases. Maura Tierney (ER) and former Numb3rs star Rob Morrow head the cast.

-The Expectations:The positive news from the get-go is the competition, CBS’ The Defenders and NBC’s Law & Order: Los Angeles, which are also unproven. That alone gives The Whole Truth a shot to succeed. But lead-in Cougar Town is no Modern Family, Law & Order: Los Angeles could benefit from the built-in recognition, and there seems nothing new or unusual about The Whole Truth. Just because Jerry Bruckheimer’s name is attached to it does not guarantee it will succeed.

-Chance of Survival for The Whole Truth (Based on a scale of 1-1 to 10-1): 5-1

Twentieth Television will launch a scripted beach-set action-adventure hour, Pt. Dume, from Gregory Bonann, the creator and executive producer of Baywatch. Scheduled to debut on the weekends in fall 2011, Pt. Dume, to-date, has been sold in 30 percent of the country, including stations in New York (WPIX), Los Angeles (KTLA), Chicago (WGN), Philadelphia (WPHL), Washington, D.C. (WDCW), Dallas (KDAF), Houston (KIAH), Seattle (KCPQ and KZJO), Miami (WSLF), Portland (KRCW), Indianapolis (WXIN and WTTV), Hartford (WTIC and WCCT) and New Orleans (WGNO and WNOL).